From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (John Colson):
Known as the Middle Colorado Watershed Council, it was formed in 2009 with funding mainly from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and currently has just one paid employee — Coordinator Laurie Rink of Carbondale.
The organization has been undergoing a kind of birthing process since it was formed. Organizers are applying for nonprofit status and meet frequently to discuss problems and issues unique to the Colorado River drainage, and to hold public events to familiarize the local citizenry with the Council and its mission.
Rink, as part of the Council’s outreach to other organizations and agencies, gave a presentation on Thursday night to the Garfield County Energy Advisory Board (EAB) about the Council, its goals and its structure.
The Colorado River watershed, Rink told the EAB and an audience of roughly a dozen members of the public, covers approximately 2,000 square miles of terrain from the eastern end of Glenwood Canyon to the town of De Beque.
The boundary of the watershed, she said, is largely identical to the contours of Garfield County.
The watershed encompasses about 7,500 linear miles of rivers, creeks and streams, she said, but not the Roaring Fork River drainage. Although the Roaring Fork is a tributary to the Colorado, it is watched over by another organization, the Roaring Fork Conservancy in Basalt.
All that water, Rink said, is generally used for recreation, agriculture, the energy industry, wildlife, and drinking water.